With Nucor adding capacity in Crawfordsville and Med-Mizer doubling up in Batesville, is our shop positioned to supply into the utility grid and VA-adjacent demand that's actually pulling capital into Indiana right now?

Both projects show real demand pulling behind them, utility pole steel on one side and VA medical bed subcontracting on the other. This is the week to check whether your current capabilities line up with either supply chain before the next funding round closes.

If BP's Whiting lockout and NIPSCO's separate lockout of roughly 1,700 USW workers point to a coordinated hardline bargaining approach from two of the region's largest employers, what does that mean for our own labor talks this year?

Expect unions and negotiators on both sides to study how these two lockouts resolve, and build extra time into your own bargaining calendar in case the same approach shows up at your table.

Do we have atmospheric monitoring and lockout/tagout procedures in place on any liquid nitrogen or cryogenic equipment, given that OSHA still has no dedicated standard for the exact failure mode behind the New Albany incident?

If your plant runs an IQF tunnel freezer or any bulk cryogenic storage, this is the week to confirm your monitoring and shutoff procedures, since a federal standard for this exact failure mode may not arrive soon.

Manufacturing News TEG Daily

October 14, 2026 · Montgomery · Ripley · Lake · Floyd · NIPSCO

Nucor's $105 Million Crawfordsville Expansion, Med-Mizer's Batesville Ramp, and BP's Whiting Lockout: Indiana Manufacturing News for October 14

Nucor's $105M Crawfordsville expansion, Med-Mizer's Batesville VA contract ramp, and BP's Whiting lockout: what Indiana manufacturers need to track this week.

Daniel BurkePublished every day

Nucor's $105 million Crawfordsville expansion adds a fifth major Indiana investment to its utility pole business, Med-Mizer is doubling headcount in Batesville to fill a new Veterans Affairs contract, and nearly 1,000 United Steelworkers members remain locked out of BP's refinery in Whiting with no new bargaining date on the calendar. Those three developments touch capital spending, labor relations, and the inland fuel supply Indiana plants depend on. A liquid nitrogen malfunction at a New Albany food plant also sent seven workers to the hospital this week, and Indiana's commerce secretary left for Japan to defend the state's hold on Toyota, Honda, and Subaru supply chains. Here is what each one means for your operation.

01Montgomery

Nucor's $105 Million Crawfordsville Expansion Faces a Three-Way Pole Market and an Unfinished County Vote

Nucor plans to expand its Towers & Structures facility in Crawfordsville by more than 120,000 square feet, a $105 million project on the 180-acre site adjacent to the company's Nucor Steel Indiana sheet mill. By the end of 2029, the initiative is projected to generate 100 jobs with average pay of $87,500 annually, and CEO Leon Topalian linked the expansion to utility investment in grid hardening, renewable interconnection, and EV charging infrastructure.

For the huddle: If a portion of the transmission buildout Nucor is counting on is tied up in a multi-state regulatory challenge, where else in our supply chain are we assuming grid-investment demand that isn't actually locked in yet?

SourcesNucor to Invest $105 Million in Indiana Utility Structures Facility (news.constructconnect.com)

Read the story →

02Ripley

Med-Mizer Doubles Its Batesville Workforce on a VA Contract It Doesn't Directly Hold

Med-Mizer is investing $9 million to upgrade its 40,000-square-foot plant at 80 Commerce Drive in Batesville, adding a second shift and up to 73 jobs at wages 134 percent of the Ripley County average. The expansion supports a new five-year, sole-source Department of Veterans Affairs contract to supply at-home hospital beds and support surfaces to veterans nationwide.

For the huddle: Given that our revenue flows through a prime contractor we don't control, what's our contingency if that intermediary relationship changes before we've fully ramped the new capacity?

SourcesMed-Mizer Investing $9 Million for Expansion in Batesville (eaglecountryonline.com)

Read the story →

03Lake

BP Locks Out Nearly 1,000 Steelworkers at Whiting as the Dispute Enters Its Sixth Day

BP has locked out close to 1,000 United Steelworkers members at its Whiting refinery, now in its sixth day with no new bargaining date scheduled. USW national oil bargaining chair Mike Smith said in an IndustriALL union release that BP declined to adopt the national pattern Marathon Petroleum already settled, a deal that included a 15 percent wage increase and a $2,500 bonus.

For the huddle: With a sustained throughput shortfall at one of the region's largest inland refineries, how exposed are we to regional fuel and feedstock price swings if this lockout drags on?

SourcesLocked Out BP Workers Picket Outside Indiana Refinery Amid Labor Contract Dispute (industriall-union.org)

Read the story →

04Floyd

Carbon Monoxide and Nitrogen Fog Send Seven to the Hospital at a New Albany Food Plant

A fault between a bulk liquid nitrogen tank and a tunnel freezer released gas on October 13 at the New Albany facility of Fearless Innovative Food Company (previously known as Kemper Foods), located at 525 Park East Boulevard. About 30 employees were on-site when roughly 15 firefighters responded, and at least seven workers were hospitalized.

For the huddle: Do our own liquid-nitrogen or cryogenic freezing lines have atmospheric monitoring in place, given that OSHA still has no dedicated standard for this exact failure mode?

SourcesAt least 7 hospitalized after carbon monoxide found, possible nitrogen leak at New Albany food plant (wdrbwave.com)

Read the story →

05Statewide

Commerce Secretary Goodrich Leads the First Braun-Era Trade Trip to Japan

Indiana Secretary of Commerce Chuck Goodrich left this week for Tokyo and Nagoya to meet with executives from Subaru, Toyota, and Honda, all three of which run large assembly plants in Indiana, along with Toyota's Tier 1 suppliers Aisin Corp, Toyota Industries Corp, and Toyota Tsusho, and the Japanese facilities of Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly. It is the first foreign trade mission of Governor Mike Braun's administration; predecessor Eric Holcomb made 27 such trips over eight years.

For the huddle: Are we positioned to pick up Tier 1 supplier relationships (not just OEM headline deals) being cultivated in Nagoya this week, and does our own IEDC incentive exposure need a second look given the Goodrich conflict-of-interest debate?

SourcesIndiana’s commerce secretary making overseas trip this week (wfyi.org)

Read the story →

Questions for your morning huddle

This brief